Bottle-cleaner.



L. CLARKE. BOTTLE CLEANER.

APPLICATION.F|LED JUNE 10. 1918.

UN TED STATES PATENT OFFICE- LoUIs CLARKE, OF COLLEGE form, NEW YORK.

BOTTLE-CLEANER.

Specification of letters Patent. Patented Aug. 27, 1918- Application filed June 10, 1918. Serial No. 239.297.

vention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to new and useful improvements in rotary cleaning devices, adapted for cleansing the interiors of bottles orlike receptacles,.and more particularly of that type including a screw threaded shank and amember mounted on the shank for relative longitudinal non-rotative movement whereby upon the occurrence of said movement, the shank will be rotated to effect a cleansing action through the medium of brush members carried thereby.

It is in general the object of the present invention .to simplify and otherwise improve the structure of devices of this character, and to increase the efiiciency of such devices and the ease with which they may be manipulated.

More particularly it is my object to'provide a device wherein the threads of the shank are formed by the twisted relation of wire strands composing the shank and whereby said strands are separated and extended at the end of the shank to form brush carrying members, thus providing for manufacture of the device at an exceedingly low cost.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, the-invention resides'more particularly in the novel combination, formation and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims. I

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the im proved rotary cleaning device.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view thereof. with portions in vertical section. Fig. 3 is an elevational view showing the device ready for insertion in a bottle.

Fig. l'isa transverse sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2. I

Referring now more particularly to th accompanying drawings, the main shank of the cleaning device is formed of a plurality of, in the present instance three, wire strands 5, which are twisted about one another to form spiral thread grooves in the shank. At the upper end of the shank, the wires are preferably pressed together to form a substantially cylindrical head portion on whichgso is rotatably mounted a handle cap 6 and which is provided with an annular groove 7 receiving an inward projection 8 on said cap affording a swivel securement for the cap. At the other end of the shank, the

wire strands 5 are separated and extend a considerable distance from the shank, being resilient in nature and normally urged apart.

A pair of these shanks carry brushes 9, and the remaining strand carries a chain section 10 adapted to clean the bottom of a bottle when it is placed therein. For rotating the shank upon reciprocation thereof, and for also procuring a retraction of the brush and chain carrying strand portions to permit their ready insertion in a bottle or other receptacle to be cleaned, a plate 11 is mounted on the shank, and provided with an opening 12 corresponding in area to the cross sectional area of the twisted strands, portions of the plate thus extending into the thread g ooves of the shank whereby when the pla l: rotative movement will be imparted to the shank upon reciprocation thereof with respectto the plate. A, second plate 13 is also provided which is movable about the separate strand portions to draw them together and permit the readyinser'tion of said strand sections in a bottle.

Thus, in operation the plate 13 is normally positioned to retract the separate strand portions, and the brush and chain members carried thereby are inserted into the neck of a bottle or other receptacle. The device is then pushed-into the receptacle, the plate 13 abutting the mouth of the receptacle and as the separate strand sections move inwardly they are freed from the plate and assume theirnormal positions to engage their work members with the wall of the receptacle. With one hand the operator then presses the plates 11 and 13 against the receptacle, and with his other grasping the handle cap 6 reciprocates the shank to thus move the brushes and chain members up and down in the bottle and at the same time effect rotation thereof, or the plate 1 1 itself may be reciprocated to confine the e is held against rotation, a

A simple, durable and eflicient device has thus been provided, which may be manufactured at an exceedingly low cost.

What is claimed is: p

1. A rotary cleaning device including a shank comprising a plurality of strands twisted together to form spiral thread grooves, a handle swiveled at one end of the shank, said strands being separated and extending divergently at the other end of the shank, cleaning members carried by said separated strand portions, and a member slidable on the shank and having portions engaged in the thread grooves thereof.

2. A rotary cleaning device including a shank comprising a plurality of strands twisted together to form spiral thread grooves, a handle swiveled at one end of the shank, said strands being separated and extending divergently at the other end ofthe shank, cleaning members carried by said separated strand portions, and a member slidable on the shank and having portions engaged in the thread grooves thereof and a second member slidable on the shank and extensible over the separated strand portions to retract said portions.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

LOUIS CLARKE.

Witnesses:

MARY A. HEBEL, JACOB T. HEBEL. 

